I heard oooohs and aaaahs from the audience. I sat up a little taller at Gracie’s feet.
And she kept on reading, even faster than before. “Of course, Steele Bronson and his group figured this out before they came to St. Gertrude. The only thing they were missing was the key. They knew it could be anything or hidden anywhere. So as soon as they arrived in St. Gertrude, they came to my Mom’s antique store. They were especially interested in meeting my Mom since everyone knows she is sort of an expert on St. Gertrude history.”
She paused and took a deep breath. “In their quest to find the key, Steele and his bunch bought up all the old furniture from St. Gertrude settlers that was at my Mom’s store. Of course, they were hoping to find the key hidden inside somewhere. And then when I was reading my essay the first time on this stage, Steele Bronson interrupted the whole thing. He declared me the winner, even though he hadn’t heard all the essays. And even though it wasn’t his place to pick a winner. But he did that so he could declare that part of the prize would be his coming to my house for dinner. That was just an excuse so his people could search our house when we weren’t looking. In case my Mom had the key at our house.”
Now Gracie sort of frowned. “It was a really lousy deal, since my essay wasn’t the best. I’ve felt pretty bad ever since I got that trophy. And I didn’t even do anything wrong. The grown-ups did something wrong, by going along with what Steele Bronson said. But when I tried to set things right, it backfired.”
Suddenly tears filled Gracie’s eyes. She paused for a moment to wipe them away.
The audience made different sounds now, angry sounds. And I could hear Steele Bronson practically hissing from the side of the stage. But our Dad kept his hand on the movie star’s arm.
Then Gracie finally smiled, like I hadn’t seen her smile for days. “Unfortunately for Steele Bronson and his bunch, the code he was so desperate to solve was cracked by someone else first. Compliments of the BBCDA . . .”
Gracie squinted at the page and stared at it for a moment.
Then she glanced at me and Bogey before she read on. “So now, if you would please follow my cats, Buckley and Bogey, we will lead you to the hidden copy of the Declaration of Independence. The Dunlap Broadside.”
Loud murmurs and more gasps rose from the audience. Gracie giggled and smiled at Bogey and me. We nodded back to her and then took off at a nice trot. We ran down the stage steps and Gracie followed us. Along with our Dad, who still had a good grip on Steele Bronson. Then the Mayor and Mrs. Peebles followed him. And after that, everyone in the audience followed along, too.
Once Bogey and I got outside the auditorium, we ran straight across the main room. We made a beeline for the fireplace. Gracie kept up with us, and our Dad followed close behind.
We reached the fireplace and Bogey pointed to some shelves next to it. “Ready to climb, kid? I think this is a job for a big guy like you.”
“Aye, aye,” I said.
Then I saluted him perfectly. No problem. My big, giant-sized paw went exactly where I wanted it to go. Did that mean I was growing into my paws? For a while, anyway?
Then I scaled those bookshelves like I was climbing up our cat towers. I jumped right up onto the fireplace mantel. I tiptoed across the mantel and stopped smack dab in front of Mr. Fartheringston’s painting. I could tell he was smiling at me from his painting.
And that’s when I remembered the words we had uncovered last night. Right after we had used the key to decode the letters on that stone. They were the words Mr. Fartheringston had written in a secret code. We were pretty sure he must have left them for his wife. But for some reason, she must not have figured it out.
Because the code had spelled out, “I have a secret behind my smile, my dear. I will always be smiling down upon you.”
Right away, Bogey and I had known he was talking about his painting that had been over the fireplace mantel. It had probably been there long before he even passed away. And inside he’d hidden a copy of the Dunlap Broadside that had been passed down in his family.
What a nice man he must have been. And what a hero he was going to be for leaving a copy of the Declaration of Independence to our library.
I reached up and pushed on the bottom of his painting with my big paw.
“What’s he doing?” Mrs. Peebles demanded. “He’s going to knock that painting off and ruin it.”
Our Dad moved next to the fireplace. “Then maybe we could give Buckley a little help.”
Our Dad reached up and grabbed onto the frame of the huge painting with his strong arms. Then he lifted the painting off the wall. He carried it over to a library table and set it down. Then he turned it over and studied the back. It was completely covered with a very old and very big piece of wood. Before I knew it, Bogey jumped up and tugged at a nail that was holding the wood in place.
“I think he wants us to take the backing off,” Gracie said.
The Mayor pulled his Swiss Army knife from his pocket. And before long, he and our Dad had worked the nails from the back of the frame.
Then I leaped off the mantel and jumped up to the library table to join Bogey. Everyone gathered around to see as Mrs. Peebles carefully lifted that piece of wood off.
And there it was. Staring back at us. A very large and very old sheet of paper. One that read, “In Congress, July 4, 1776. A DECLARATION By the REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, In GENERAL CONGRESS Assembled.” At the very bottom it read, “Signed by Order and in Behalf of the Congress, JOHN HANCOCK, President. Attest, CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.” And finally, it read, “Philadelphia: Printed by John Dunlap.”
Oooohs and aaaahs rose up from the group. Everyone around us clapped and cheered. Bogey and I gave each other paw bumps, while our Dad just kept shaking his head.
“Wait till Abby sees this,” he muttered over and over.
And seconds later, she did. Our Mom came running up and hugged Gracie and our Dad.
She was a little out of breath. “Phoebe caught Nadia and Frank. They’d already broken into our house. And the police caught Steele Bronson and Taffy, too. They were trying to make a getaway just as I got back here. Bravo and Tango helped the police, because it looks like they knew nothing about all this.”
“Glad the crooks were caught, honey,” our Dad said. “But you might want to take a look at this . . .”
Our Mom looked down at the document and suddenly her eyes went so wide I hardly even recognized her. She thunked her hand to her chest and seemed to have trouble breathing.
“Is that really what I think it is? Do you know how rare those are? And how valuable?” she sort of sputtered.
“Oh yeah. I know,” our Dad said.
Our Mom choked and coughed a few times. “You mean, that’s what all this nonsense was really about all week? That’s why Steele Bronson was really here and why he put us through so much?”
Our Dad nodded. “He thought you might accidentally give him some clues to help him find it.”
“So who did find it?” our Mom asked.
“Well . . .” our Dad started to say. “That part is a little fuzzy . . . Gracie announced it in an essay that she says she didn’t write. And Buckley and Bogey, well . . . they sort of led us to this . . .”
For a moment our Mom just stared at our Dad. “Let me guess. Somewhere in there, the letters BBCDA came up.”
Our Dad sighed. “Oh yeah.”
Our Mom smiled and laughed. “Maybe it’s best if we just don’t think about all that right now.”
“Deal,” our Dad told her.
Gracie leaned down and whispered to us. “I’d really like to know who I have to thank for that . . . um . . . essay. I’m not sure who the BBCDA is, but I wonder . . . Sometimes I think you cats are a whole lot smarter than anyone knows. But I think I know.”
I reached up and gave her a kiss on the nose while Bogey purred up to her.
Then she hugged us both.
Holy Catnip.
CHAPTER 27
Holy Mackerel!
The morning of the Fourth of July dawned bright and sunny. Of course, we had to get up early. That’s because Gracie insisted that Bogey and I be allowed to ride on the float in the parade with her. So our Mom and Dad drove us down and made sure we were nice and secure on top of that big float.
Right after we’d uncovered the Dunlap Broadside, Dylan Federov made a beeline for Gracie and apologized. She forgave him, and Mrs. Peebles declared that both Gracie and Dylan were the winners of the essay contest. They would both be riding on the float and reading their essays after the town picnic.
Mrs. Peebles had smiled at Gracie. “Is there any way the library can thank you, Gracie?”
That’s when Bogey immediately pushed the last page of Gracie’s essay up to her. He turned it over and pointed to some small typing on the other side.
Gracie squinted her eyes and read it aloud. “I would like the library to adopt the three cats who were just taken to the Buckley and Bogey Cat Shelter. They were part of a family and should stay together. Then the library will have three cats again, just like when Emily Fartheringston lived here.”
Mrs. Peebles’ mouth had dropped open. “All right then, young lady . . . I’ll see that it’s done.”
And that was how the library came to be home to Agatha, Poe, and Doyle. A black cat, a white cat, and a three-legged, tiger-striped cat, all named after famous mystery authors. All three had shiny, short fur and green eyes. Luke arranged to have them brought over right away, and the cats were so happy they got to stay together as a family. Plus they were looking forward to spending time with all the people who read books at the library.
I only wished they could have joined us on the float. Because I have to say, it was a lot of fun riding on that float. The whole thing was covered with red, white, and blue streamers, and lots and lots of flags. Those flags waved in the breeze as the float moved down Main Street. The very street where we’d first seen Steele Bronson’s limo creeping along. The funny thing was, everyone had practically forgotten about Steele Bronson and his group. The last we’d heard, they were still in jail.
But to tell you the truth, I really didn’t think about him much today. Instead I just had fun waving to all the people, and some cats, too, on the sidewalks. It was almost as fun as running in our big, giant wheel. But a whole lot slower.
Dylan leaned over to Gracie. “I still don’t understand. How did you figure all that out? And how did you get your cats to run to that painting like they did?”
But Gracie just smiled. “It’s kind of a long story, Dylan. And it’s complicated.”
Dylan smiled back. “You know, Gracie, I’m going to nominate you for class president next year. You’d be a really good president. You’re very smart and you’re very kind. You always think about others instead of yourself. And you’re very fair. It seems like you really want to do the right thing, even when it’s hard to do. My grandfather would be proud of you.”
Gracie kind of gasped. “Well thanks, Dylan.”
He nodded toward us. “I think your cats might become famous after all this.”
I glanced at my brother. “Do you want to be famous?”
He grinned back at me. “Not on your life, kid. How about you?”
I remembered what the Wise One had told me about fame and I shook my head. “No, thanks. It doesn’t sound all that great to me.”
But I did want to be the best cat detective that I could be. Just like my brother. And I sure hoped I’d have more hunches in the future.
I crinkled my brow. “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” I said to Bogey.
He pulled out a bag of cat treats and passed us each a treat. “Spill it, kid. I’m all ears.”
I munched on my treat. “Why did Arthur leave his wife a message in a secret code? Why didn’t he just tell her about the Dunlap Broadside he had hidden?”
Bogey finished his treat and passed us another round. “Probably to keep it hush-hush, kid. So the rest of his relatives couldn’t get their greedy paws on it when he passed away. If he’d put it in his will, the rest of the family would’ve put up a big fuss. Or someone could’ve broken in to steal it.”
I tilted my head to the side and thought about this. “It’s true. She might not have ended up with it.”
Bogey nodded. “You got it, kid. So he kept it hidden and gave it to her in a secret code. So nobody would know about it. Not even Emily. Until she figured things out.”
I shook my head. “Too bad she didn’t crack that code.”
Bogey munched on another treat. “I hear ya, kid. I hear ya.”
I glanced around at all the people who lined the street to watch the parade. “Well, if I ever want you to know something, I’ll just tell you. I won’t put it into a secret code.”
Bogey gave me a paw bump and grinned. “I like your style, kid.”
Later that day, the library held a dedication ceremony for their newly framed Dunlap Broadside. It now hung in the main room, not far from Arthur Fartheringston’s painting. The funny thing was, it had been there the whole time. But nobody even knew it was there.
Our whole family was honored for uncovering it. Half the town showed up for the festivities, including the three new library cats. Everyone clapped when Mrs. Peebles announced us.
“Thanks to the Abernathys, we can enjoy our very own copy of the Declaration of Independence. A document that went out almost two hundred and fifty years ago, on this very day. A document that changed our history. Can you just imagine all those people on horseback, riding day and night to deliver copies of this to all the colonies? Their very lives were in danger, just by helping to declare that the United States was an independent nation. What a brave bunch. Much like Gracie was so brave yesterday, standing up there on stage and reading all that to us.”
Then Mrs. Peebles raised one eyebrow. “There are still a few details that I’m a little hazy on. I’m not quite sure how Gracie managed to get her cats to lead the way. And, I’d love to know how Gracie decoded that stone.”
Our Mom smiled. “Let’s save it for another day. Our family has had a very big week. Right now we’d just like to enjoy the Fourth of July.”
Of course, our Mom didn’t know that we’d planted the page from Mr. Fartheringston’s diary in Gracie’s room last night. And we’d also printed out a copy of the decoded message and left it next to the diary page. Just so Gracie could explain it later if she needed to.
Then, that night, our Mom and Dad and Gracie went off to the town picnic. Gracie was going to read her real essay, along with Dylan.
And us cats had a celebration of our own. Gracie still had her decorations up and our Mom had left us a nice, tuna birthday cake. After all, that’s what the Fourth of July really is — a very big birthday party for our nation. We had just started to gather in the dining room when I saw the Princess helping the Wise One come down the stairs. So I raced up the stairs to help. The Wise One had a hard time balancing on her tottery legs, so I let her lean on me for extra support. Sometimes it does pay to be an extra big guy.
Once we were all together, it turned into quite a party. The Wise One and Lil told us lots of stories about the olden days. Later, our Mom and Dad and Gracie came home early, to be with us. So we wouldn’t be scared when the fireworks started.
Gracie picked me up and hugged me tight. “Oh Buckley, this turned out to be the best Fourth of July ever!”
And then she started to spin. I really hoped she might be getting over her spinning phase, but it looked like she hadn’t just yet. I hung on for dear life as we went around and around and around.
Finally, she put me down. The room kept on spinning as I tried to stand still. Just then, a pair of big, green eyes came into focus right in front of my face. And my heart started to pound really hard inside my chest.
It was the Princess.
“Buckley,” she said in her sweet voice. “I never did thank you for rescuing me the other day. This is the second time you save
d me from the Count and Countess. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, well . . . I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened.”
Neither did I. Not that I could do much thinking right about then anyway. Not after the Princess gave me a kiss on the nose. That’s when I just couldn’t take it anymore. I went down like a sack of cat food.
The next thing I knew, Bogey was standing over me. “Dames, kid. They’ll get you every time.”
“Dames,” I sort of mumbled.
Bogey waved a cat treat over my nose. “Here you go, kid. This’ll get you going again.”
“Thanks,” I managed to say as I munched on my treat.
Then he passed me a second treat. “Here’s an extra, kid. I’m gonna need you to be alert pretty soon. There’s something I want to show you on the computer. As soon as our family goes to bed.”
“There is?” I sort of squeaked.
“Yup, kid. I got a strange email. It looks like we might have another case for the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Agency.”
Another case? Already?
Holy Catnip!
About the Author
Cindy Vincent was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and has lived all around the US and Canada. She is the creator of the Mysteries by Vincent murder mystery party games and the Daisy Diamond Detective Series games for girls. She is also the award-winning author of the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Caper books, and the Daisy Diamond Detective book series. She lives with her husband and an assortment of fantastic felines — including the real Buckley and Bogey, who run surveillance on her house each and every night.
The Case of the Clever Secret Code Page 23